Unfavorable weather, summer fruit crop failure

Of the more than 15 thousand hectares of fruit trees, up to 80% of the fruit tree area is harvested in the summer such as durian, avocado, mangosteen, rambutan... This year, the weather was unfavorable when the fruit trees were flowering, so the fruit set rate was low, causing this crop's output to decrease sharply.

Ms. Le Kim Anh, Bau Sen hamlet, Xa Bang commune, Chau Duc district takes care of the mangosteen garden.

To produce summer fruit, from the end of January, farmers began to treat the trees to flower. However, at that time, unseasonal rains appeared, causing many areas of flowering trees to fall off, unable to bear fruit.

The avocado garden of Mr. Vo Thach Cao, in Xa Bang commune, Chau Duc district is an example. Mr. Vo Thach Cao said that every year, his 7-hectare avocado garden yields about 300 tons, but this year the yield has decreased by more than 50%. "The reason for this year's avocado crop failure is that when the trees flower, the weather is cloudy, and the rain is late, so the flowers fall. When the sun comes out, I have to re-process it, so this crop is late and the yield has also decreased by more than 50%," Mr. Cao informed.

The adverse weather conditions also significantly affected the mangosteen garden of Ms. Le Kim Anh's family in Bau Sen hamlet, Xa Bang commune, Chau Duc district. According to Ms. Kim Anh, the mangosteen tree bloomed in February, the time when the hot weather interspersed with unseasonal rains caused the fruit set rate to be low. Even the tree was growing new leaves while nurturing fruit, so the tree was exhausted, leading to the young fruit falling off, significantly affecting productivity.

“I still take care of and process it like every year, but this season is very difficult. The erratic weather affects the growth of the trees, especially when they flower and bear fruit. A lot of young fruit falls off and I don’t know how to fix it. This situation will probably not be much when harvested. It is estimated that the yield loss is 50-60% compared to previous years,” said Ms. Kim Anh.

Many durian gardens in Long Phuoc commune, Ba Ria city also saw a 30% decrease in output compared to previous years. This year, Mr. Nguyen Van Huong's 1ha durian garden had to be treated twice to flower before fruiting. This means that the harvest time is delayed by 1 month. "Thai durian needs about 50 days or more to stabilize and keep the fruit. Therefore, the harvest is in July, instead of the end of May like previous years. Harvesting at this time marks the beginning of the rainy season, causing the quality of the fruit to decrease," Mr. Huong analyzed.

According to the Department of Agriculture and Environment, the whole province has more than 15 thousand hectares of fruit trees, of which nearly 11,400 hectares are in the business period, with an average output of nearly 143,000 tons. Of the fruit trees in the business period, about 80% are trees for summer harvest. The Department of Agriculture and Environment recommends that gardeners proactively monitor the weather and increase the application of technical farming measures to limit damage. At the same time, apply science, technology and new techniques to create high-quality products that are competitive in the market...

Article and photos: DONG HIEU

Source: https://baobariavungtau.com.vn/kinh-te/202505/thoi-tiet-bat-loi-trai-cay-vu-he-that-thu-1041855/